Me: Hi everybody! I'm alive and well now, so we can move on! And for all you impatient peopel who were bugging my sister, YES IT IS TIME! THE VILLIAIN'S STORY AND MOTIVE--FINALLY REVEALED!

Toli: Enjoy #10!! WDOY (We Don't Own Yu-Gi-Oh)


CHAPTER TEN: THE FAILURE

Yugi awoke suddenly, like someone had just shaken him. He stared at the darkness surrounding him. He was lying on a cold, hard floor.

"Hello?" Yugi called out weakly. "Is…anyone there?" He tried to get up, but his body felt incredibly heavy. So he just laid there. "Hello?" he tried again.

The only reply was his own empty-sounding echo.

Yugi laid there in the darkness, unsure what to do. He wanted to get up, but for some reason he felt too heavy to get up. The darkness seemed to press in on him.

And something was missing.

Yugi realized with a start. The Millennium Puzzle! It was gone from around his neck! Had he dropped it? Was it taken away?

"You're awake," a voice spoke suddenly from the darkness. Yugi looked around, hoping to see who it was. Off to the left, a figure was barely noticeable through the thick blackness.

"Who are you?" Yugi called out.

"Nobody," the voice replied. "Nobody—just like you'll soon be. We're both going to be nobodies now."

Yugi began to get scared. "What…do you mean? I'm not nobody. I have a name."

"Yes, a name. And a family. And friends! And people who love you!" the voice got louder and shriller with every sentence. "You know that you have people who care, people who think you're a great person. You and your whole stupid family, I bet! You're the last one, you know."

Yugi was confused now. "The last one? The last what?"

"The last person left!" the voice yelled. "The last person I have to kill before my mission is complete."

Yugi was scared. "What mission? Please, tell me."

There was laughter, but it didn't sound evil.

"My mission in life. The only thing I have to live for. Either you die-or I die. It's as simple as that. Confused? I suppose I could explain since you won't be alive much longer.

"My name is Nona. I'm the same age you are. If I were a normal person, I'd be going to school, worrying about what boys think of me, and wondering if I'll flunk the next math test. But I'm not a normal person."

She sat down crosslegged next to him, as if they were having some regular conversation. "I get the feeling that Yami--the man from your Puzzle--has been lying to you about me, hasn't he?"

"What do you mean?" Yugi asked. "Does he know you?"

"In a way," Nona said. "I once had the Millennium Puzzle in my possession." She paused to let Yugi gasp. "It's true. I found it in Egypt when I was lost one night. It fascinated me. I took it home and tried to solve it. I didn't come close." She looked disgusted. "But I determined to solve its mystery. I knew there was something special about it, simply by holding a piece in my hand.

"My family was into Ancient Egyptian magic. In fact, it was what my father studied as a profession. I secretly studied Dad's old books to try and find a way to unlock the secrets of the Puzzle. I was afraid to show it to my father, because I thought he would take it away and try to figure it out, and I wanted to do that myself. Besides, he was abusive. Even if he didn't want to study it, he would take it away to be mean.  So I secretly researched, and I finally found something about the Puzzle. It seemed the only known way to unlock its secrest was to solve it. As I had no luck with that, I decided to use the magical equivalent of dynamite--spells assumed to reveal hidden powers in anything.

"I tried to use one on the portal, but I made an error, and instead of unlocking the secrets, I made contact with the spirit inside."

Yugi gasped again. "No way!" he said. "You talked to Yami?"

"Yes I did," Nona said. "But it proved to be fatal. The spell I mangled actually planted a curse upon me. Unless I destroyed every living owner of the Millennium Puzzle, I was doomed to die. My parents found out by accident and threw me out of the house. I would die a miserable death, unless I satiated the appetite of the curse upon me.

"So I began my weary journey. I would come across people in the street and ask them if they had ever owned the Millennium Puzzle, which I took with me. I never found anyone in Egypt. So I decided to travel. I became a thief to buy myself plane tickets and flew many places. Twice I actually found former owners of the Millennium Puzzle. Once I simply resorted to murder and had to flee the country. I decided to find a better way to get rid of my victims. So I returned to my family's home in secret, and stole one of my father's magic books. I memorized all the spells I needed in the book and disposed of it. One was the spell I use to control people. Another was a spell I used to travel, so I wouldn't have to steal money for plane tickets. I returned to where I found my second victim and used my newly acquired abilities to dispose of him.

"On my way to a new place to make a new life for myself, I was attacked by a ridiculous band of robbers looking for easy money. They escaped with the Puzzle and no doubt sold it to someone. I realized my current predicament, and desperately searched for the Puzzle, hoping to retrieve it before it was claimed by someone else. I tracked down the bandits and, using my magic, forced them to tell me what they had donev with the Puzzle. They said they had sold it to some guy flying to Egypt. Knowing that they had stolen and briefly owned the Puzzle, I killed them all and then headed back to Egypt to reclaim the Puzzle.

"When I made it, the man had already given it to your grandfather. Understand, now, that this is a time frame of about three years. I killed the man and went after your grandfather, but I lost him. I caught back up with him when he traveled back to America. I would have killed him, except for I had lost him again, and now that he had given you the Puzzle, he hadn't had it for a long enough time to be considered its owner, and besides, he had brought it back for you. I figured this all out when I finally found him again, one year later. When I found out you had the Puzzle, and you completed it, I knew this was where my mission would end. With you. Once you are gone, I will also depart from this world."

"What do you mean?" Yugi said, shivering.

"I mean that I have dragged out this curse too long. It's too late for me. All I can do now is kill you, and then commit suicide before the curse destroys me."

"But if it's too late, why kill me at all?" Yugi asked as bravely as he could.

"Because I have come too far and done too much to simply let you go!" Nona snapped, standing up abruptly. Then she seemed to gain control of herself. "I have been going along for the better part of three years, killing so I could live. Now you're all that's left. I pity you for not understanding what danger you put yourself in when you accepted this cursed Puzzle--" shed held the Puzzle up "from your ignorant grandfather."

Yugi could't speak. He was too shocked.

"So now you know everything about me and why you must die. I may seem cold-blooded and evil, but your opinion doesn't sway me at all. All I know is, you're going to die and that is all there is to think about."

Yugi shivered. Her story was sad in a way, but she still didn't have the right to kill. All the innocent people she had murdered, just to save herself. It was terrible. He was very scared. "Isn't there anything I can do to convince you to let me live?" he pleaded.

Nona shook her dark head. "No. You're my victim, and you're not going to live. You can't plead or negotiate your way out of the inevitable, Yugi Moto." She retreated into the shadows with three words.

"I'll be back."

It's true, Nona thought to herself as she left Yugi on the floor in the room. I am a cold-blooded murderer. I was the only one. Seif, only you understood me. Even though Lavell tried, she never understood me like you. She held the Puzzle to her chest. I wish you both were here with me now. We were kindred spirits, a like kind. We were friends.

A solitary tear rolled down her cheek. But even the death of that boy could never bring you back. This Puzzle is useless. I don't want it. I'll leave it--and the spirit--with his body, and they can torment each other in the next life. But I'll look for you, and maybe we'll all meet up in the next life, and we can be a circle of friends again.


END CHAPTER

Me: Chapter complete!

Toli: Did you like?

Me: We hope so! See you next time, okay?NEXT IN CHAPTER 11…Time is running out for Yugi, and his friends still have no clue where he is. But Yami might be able to help…

REVIEW RESPONSES

Mena: It's that time again!

Toli: Again?

Mena: Yes, because we are grateful for the support!

Toli: (snaps to the alert) Oh! Right! Right! Okay, here we go! (game show music plays) Okey dokeeeee, now who's first? Ah, yes. Elizabeth Aiken! Thank you for said applause! (bows) Now you why Yugi was murdered, as does everyone else.

Mena: Don't you worry, Elizabeth, even if you're not related to the good-looking, great-voiced idolized Clay Aiken, we still love you!

Toli: O.o; Um, yes, of course. Okay! Next is Millenniumgrl126. Yes, you made a right 'inference'. Boy you're smart! I hope Killer doesn't do what her name implies after reading this chapter. Mena and I have had enough death threats made on our lives by a certain frustrated parent...

Mena: Please! Give Killer some sleeping pills! (rifles in purse and spills out tons of multicolored pills before bringing up two white ones) We want our lives!

Toli: All right, next on the list is Silver Moon Phoenix and Luna. Hi guys! It seems as though Luna is--happy?--she achieved an appearance in the last chapter. Yes, she's weird. Almost as weird as this Lexie Mena keeps raving about. Trapped in something called a Millennium Plate...hmm, never heard of it. Anyway, don't let Luna kill you, okay?

Mena: You can have sleeping pills for Luna! (knocks more pills out of purse before acquiring sleeping ones)

Toli: Okay, next is dragon shadows--

Mena: (butts in) Hi! Guess what! I found the Millennium Plate in the kitchen! Hidden in the flatware drawer! I'm going to let out the spirit next chapter for proctection!

Toli: You are so annoying sometimes!

Mena: (pouts) (releases puppy dog eyes)

Toli: (spits words) Crap. (turns away) Anyway, our next response is for Erckie, who actually gave us a review telling us to hurry up. We're sorry! It's here and gone, and here's another! Don't shoot!

Mena: They didn't make threats, Toli. (sighs) Oh, the memories...

Toli: Oh. Right. Next up is Ayamari. Hey! Don't worry, as we said above, it was all explained in this chapter! You can relax now! And don't forget to come back!

Mena: Yes! You must return!

Toli: Okay, next is DMoS13 and Torru. Hey, guys. Hope Torru liked his surprise part. Torru, good to see ya. I heard you can fix stuff well.

Mena: (butts in again) She wants you to mend her broken heart.

Toli: (starts beating Mena over the head with blow-up baseball bat) SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!!!

Mena: (defnding with convenient blow-up shield) She has an ex-boyfriend. Anyway! Next up is SilverTiger-GoldenPhoenix. Hi! Hi Kira! Kira, I have advice. Next time, don't glue your face to the screen. Use tape instead!

Toli: (shoves Mena out of the way) And before she gives you any MORE cockamamie ideas, let me tell you we're sorry you got called the lizard ladies. That's wrong. I hope you hair looks okay, ST-GP. And I'll buy you a new microwave next chapter, promise. Now, let's move on.

Mena: You hurt me! (whimpers like a wounded puppy)

Toli: Cut it out, whiny. Next up is StubsMcGimp. Hi, Stubs! (returns returned returned returned wave) Good to see your hand still works! The cure for the common cold, eh? How about the cure for the common sugar high?

Mena: Yes, Darrion. It's true! I discovered a power of the Millennium Plate is the ability to suck anything unwanted from a person's mind! Lexie calls it the Mind Vacuum! Don't worry, once I unleahs her next chapter, she'll get right on it, promise! And...thanks for the kiss! (blushes and giggles and holds hand to face all at once)

Toli: Nope, sorry. Six P.M. on Dec. 13 of every year is Mom and Dad's official "we can't meet anyone who kissed our daughter(s) on impulse" day. How about Dec 14, same time?

Mena: Yeah, think about it! Anyway, our next response is for Shy. Hi and welcome to the story! We are so glad to have you here! Please continue to join us; if you plan on leaving, I'm missing you already!

Toli: And last but most definitely not least, Marshmellow13Dragon. Hi and welcome! Thank you for your review. Hurry, jump in the shower--whenever you need to get in, somehow the person inside always decides to take a longer and hotter shower just TO TICK YOU OFF (glares at Mena)

Mena: What? That was ONE time!